His Freedom for Our Chains

1 | How have I experienced the tension?

Happy Easter, my friends!

Tonight, we gather to be reminded—or perhaps to discover—the mystery of the empty tomb of Jesus.

In Genesis 1, we marvel at the creation of the world. On the fourth day, we read:

Read Genesis 1:14–15

“And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.”

In the ancient world, stars weren’t just beautiful—they were guides.

By the stars, ancient people knew when to plant their crops, when to move their herds, and how to travel across deserts.

But notice: the word seasons here doesn’t primarily mean Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

In Hebrew, it literally means appointed times—holy days, sacred festivals.

God gave His people seven major festivals to celebrate year after year, the crowning jewel being the Passover, which we celebrated just this past week.

Why celebrate the same holy days again and again?

Because holy days are disruptive.

And I need holy disruptions—because I am forgetful.

I forget what the Bible says is true about the world around me.

I forget that life is more than the physical demands on my body, my energy, my emotions.

I forget that this world is not all there is.

And so holy days are reminders—disruptions that jolt me awake to who God is, what His desires are for this world, and who I am in light of Him.

2 | How have you experienced this tension?

If you’re here tonight and unsure what you believe about Jesus, I want you to know:

I’m glad you’re here.

Maybe tonight will be a holy disruption for you.

And for those of us who follow Jesus—I hope you’d agree with me:

We are forgetful people.

This is exactly what Easter is about.

It’s a day set aside for holy disruption.

It’s a day to be reminded of news so remarkable, it changes everything.

Easter is the reminder of the greatest disruption that has ever occurred:

That a barbaric, humiliating Roman execution was not a tragedy.

It was a triumph.

3 | What do the Scriptures say about this tension?

Now, if that doesn’t immediately make sense, you’re not alone.

You don’t typically call an executed person a conqueror, right?

One of the oldest known images of Jesus dates back to around 200 A.D.—and it’s graffiti, carved mockingly on a Roman wall.

It shows a man worshiping a crucified figure with a donkey’s head, and the caption reads, “Alexamenos worships his god.”

This artist’s point was clear:

This is no God. This is no conqueror.

So how could a crucified man become the center of a holy disruption?

Read Luke 24:1–9

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.”

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, a group of women went to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.

But when they arrived, they found the stone rolled away—and no body inside.

Suddenly, two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them and said:

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

Imagine it.

It’s like a scene out of a dramatic film.

A woman goes to identify the body of her beloved—and instead, he walks right past her, alive.

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

Later that day, two of Jesus’ followers walked the road to Emmaus, discussing the strange rumors of Jesus’ resurrection.

A third traveler joined them—Jesus himself, though they didn’t recognize him.

And beginning with Moses and the Prophets, he showed them how the entire story of Scripture pointed to Him.

Then he shared a meal with them.

Read Luke 24:30–35

“When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

They rushed back to Jerusalem and burst into the room with the disciples shouting:

“The Lord has risen indeed!”

That word indeed in Greek is emphatic—like saying, “No, seriously! It’s TRUE!”

Jesus is not dead.

Jesus is alive.

But why is this resurrection the greatest disruption?

Let me show you something.

(Hold up the dirty bowl covered in chocolate sauce and a clean sponge.)

Here’s a dirty bowl.

And here’s a clean sponge.

Watch.

(Demonstrate absorbing the mess into the sponge.)

The sponge absorbs the filth into itself.

Now the bowl is clean, but the sponge has paid the price.

But drop the sponge into water, squeeze it out—and both the bowl and the sponge are clean again.

At the Cross, Jesus absorbed our sin into himself—the spotless, perfect sacrifice.

He took the contamination into himself.

But the story didn’t end there.

He was plunged into death—and emerged victorious.

Cleansed. Resurrected.

Bringing us with Him.

You may believe that humanity is generally good, or generally bad, or somewhere in between.

Maybe you think of yourself as morally neutral—doing your best most of the time.

But the Bible paints a far more sobering picture:

We are chained to sin and death.

We cannot consistently choose good.

We cannot free ourselves.

But Jesus came as the holy disruptor.

He absorbed our sin.

He broke the chains.

He brought life out of death.

Read Romans 6:5–10

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.”

That angelic messenger’s question—“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”—becomes true for every follower of Jesus.

We are no longer among the dead.

We are among the living.

This is the great exchange:

We hand Jesus our death—and He breathes His life into us.

As C.S. Lewis once wrote:

“Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”

Lewis says Jesus is turning tin soldiers into living men.

And the part of us that resists—that aches—is the part still made of tin.

4 | How can the Gospel bring resolution to this tension in your life?

What an incredible holy disruption!

For those who know, love, and follow Jesus:

We were dead—but now we live.

We were bound to sin—but now we are free.

Jesus is remaking us into His own image—the truest, most beautiful version of ourselves we could ever become.

The Gospel is not just the good news that we are forgiven.

It’s the astonishing news of what it cost to set us free.

When the followers recognized Jesus, they shouted:

“The Lord has risen indeed!”

NO, SERIOUSLY!

Do you feel the wonder of that?

He is not dead.

He is alive.

And so, too, are we.

Call and Response Practice:

When I say, “He is Risen,” you respond with, “He is Risen Indeed.”

Let’s try it.

Call: He is Risen!

Response: He is Risen Indeed!

(Repeat a few times with energy.)

If you are weary tonight…

If you feel broken, lonely, lost…

If addiction chains you, if shame covers you…

Hear Jesus say:

“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

The ancient king David knew what it meant to run for his life, hunted by armies.

And in one of those moments, he wrote these words:

Read Psalm 63:5–8

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

The safest place to be is under the shadow of His wings.

And today, the shadow of His wings is the shape of a Cross.

There is no safer place.

No better holy disruption.

No better news.

5 | Gospel Response

If you realize tonight your desperate need for Jesus…

If you realize you are imprisoned to sin, and you long to be free…

You can turn to Him right now.

If you would like to say yes to following Jesus,

I invite you: stand up and head to the sign at the back.

Our leaders are there and would love to meet you and pray with you.

There is a holy disruption waiting.

There is life for you tonight.

Because the tomb is empty.

And Jesus is alive.

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!